Citybreak, long weekend or maybe you feel like quitting everything and going on maycation? Well, whatever your motivation is, Kosovo is like Kevin for Christmas. Always a good idea. Why is it worth seeing this youngest country in Europe?
BEAUTIFUL. TASTY. CHEAP. The perfect holiday destination starter pack, isn’t it?
In a nutshell. I stayed in Prizren, getting there from Tirana cost me about 15 euros. The bus stops at the station, which is about 10/15 minutes from the city center. To cross the border, all you need is a passport, no need for visas. Well, unless you are entering from Serbia – then you need a Serbian visa. The official language is Albanian, you can also hear Serbian, but the majority of people speaks English, better or worse, but you will have no difficulties in being understood, unlike in Albania. The currency is Euro. But this is where Europe ends and the Balkans begins :d
PRIZREN
A perfect base! A small, charming town located on the Bistrica River at the foot of the Šar Planina. Prizren has a sleepy town vibe where you unconsciously start thinking about retirement :d In the best sense of the word! It’s a slow paced life, not much to do, lots of coffees to drink and neighbors to gossip about.
Old Town
Prizren captivates with its architecture, the Old Town concentrates not only the life of the city, but also all possible styles of buildings. Colorful tenement houses mix with Catholic churches and mosques. One of them, Sinana Pasha, is exceptionally picturesque, located right on the river next to the Old Town. Speaking of which, it’s full of cafes and restaurants, stalls with tacky souvenirs… in one word? I’m in love!
Viewpoint: Fortress
You only need a few hours to see the town. Be sure to climb to the viewpoint, to the fortress to admire the panorama of the city. Maybe you can count all the mosques, and there are a lot of them. On the way there, you can admire another pearls of Prizren, the Church of Christ the Savior. However, what stretches out in front of you on the horizon line after reaching the top is the Sharr Mountains.
Tasty & cheap: gastroPrizren
Geee, in Prizren you will eat so well! And how cheap! My absolute favorite place was Konak, the restaurant with a beautiful interior but an even better rooftop! Imagine: dinner on the rooftop with a view of the Sharr Mountains and the warmly lit Prizren. Plus, it’s ridiculously cheap <3 The second one, equally epic spot is the Ocakbasi Restaurant restaurant with the best breakfasts I’ve ever had in the Balkans. Prizren is gastro pampering!
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO IN KOSOVO?
MIRUSHI WATERFALLS
As a few hours are enough for Prizren, the next day I went to Mirusha Park. Just to see … a waterfall! Getting there is not the easiest – there is no direct bus, and the only option is to either rent a car (what I recommend) or talk it over with a local to take you there (what I did: 10 euros both ways). Are the waterfalls worth it?
Truth be told, I wasn’t particularly impressed… Don’t get me wrong, these waterfalls are certainly nice but… meh. In my humble opinion, if you have this burning desire to see a bit more of nature, you’ve got to go to…
PREVALLE
Montane town, about 40/50 minutes from Prizren. Getting there is unfortunately a bit troublesome: d I got there by taxi, and I came back by hitchhiking: d Oh, but it’s worth it! It’s a great place for trekking! Initially, my goal was the lake, which is so picturesquely located in the mountains. However when I arrived, it turned out that it is still covered with … snow. And I remind you that I went in May :d Instead of the lake, I went trekking to the Oshlak peak (Maja e Oshlakut).
Best plottwist ever! Even if you are not a huge fan of long trekking, its very beginning is very satisfying in terms of views, and not too advanced. There are plenty of benches to take a breath along the way. I didn’t manage to get to the top (again, the snow literally stood in my way :d, it was about 40 minutes from the top… it is what it is, next time I’ll make it 🙂 ) but it’s definitely my favorite part of my stay in Kosovo! I will definitely come back to Prevalle, which offers much more! There you can go for a picnic with a view of the Sharr Mountains, or rent quad bikes.
Protip! If you are thinking about climbing, make sure the route is available – you can call the Yjet e Sharrit Hotel. The staff is always up to date with the conditions on the route and will advise you whether the trekking path can be done today and what conditions there are.
PRISTINA
I couldn’t help but go to the ugliest capital of Europe :d Yes, not only Skopje, but also Pristina has such a charming nickname. However, unlike Skopje, the capital of Kosovo fully deserves it, imho :d I have not seen a more hideous city-being :d
Heavy buildings, harsh climate and the overwhelming feeling that those times rightly past are still present here… Pristina is a living reminder of how difficult Kosovo’s path to independence was. The one proclaimed by the government in Pristina in 2008 has not been recognized by all UN countries. This was opposed in the first place by Serbia, which still considers Kosovo as part of it that was illegally taken away from them. Currently, Kosovo’s independence is recognized by only 97 UN members.
And it seems that this state of affairs will continue for a long time … When I published a video on my Instagram about “the youngest country in Europe”. The comments section was dominated by Serbs who started calling Kosovo “thieves of their lands” and demanded that I put the Serbian flag in the description under the video, and “spread the truth” about Serbian land illegally seized …
After a pleasant walk on Mother Teresa Square and coffee in an epic cafe, I went to see the ugliest (if Prizren has a monopoly on the word “cute”, Pristina for “ugliest”) library in Europe. This is certainly a bizarre creation, reminiscent of a lively obsession with Dragon Ball. To be precise, its architect was inspired by the Albanian headgear, but multiplied by 97 – that’s how many domes the library has – gives a completely different impression. Someone must have been crying when it was being built – I’m afraid it was the builders who were aware of putting up such a hideous work 😀
You can admire this phenomenon in its full hmmm beauty from the view point, the tower located at the Cathedral of Mother Teresa. Entrance costs 1.5 euros. I definitely recommend! You can then see that Pristina looks equally ugly from above :d
After those few hours in Pristina, I escaped to Prizren! There, to soothe my aesthetic senses, I went to another charming restaurant with a view of the Old Town <3
WHAT IS THE KOSOVO PHENOMENON?
Despite such extremely different experiences in Kosovo, this country has stolen my heart! Talking to people, I heard many times, “Tell them we didn’t want this war. Say it’s safe in Kosovo. Say we’re open to Europe.” It was heartbreaking to see buildings with bullet holes in them, hear stories of war-separated families and economies collapsing because the right to self-determination was questioned.
